NAUTILUS P01 OCTOBER 2010.qxd - Nautilus International

48 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | October 2010
NEWS
Navies take tougher
line against pirates
Sharp rise in attacks reported on merchant ships off Somalia and in the South China Sea
PWarnings of a surge in
piracy off Somalia following
the monsoon lull
have materialised, with a flurry of
hijackings and attempted attacks
last month.
But Nautilus has welcomed
signs of a tougher response from
naval forces in the region, along
with a top-level pledge from the
United Nations of fresh initiatives
to tackle the problem.
After almost a month with no
successful attacks on shipping off
Somalia, September witnessed a
series of incidents — including
two hijackings in the Gulf of
Aden.
Naval ships in the area have
shown an increased readiness to
actively protect shipping — and
in one case last month US
marines boarded a Germanowned
containership that had
been hijacked in the Internationally
Recognised Transit Corridor.
Both Nautilus and the tanker
owners’ organisation Intertanko
welcomed the action, which saw
control of the Antigua & Barbuda
registered Magellan Star regained
by the US military without a shot
being fired.
The ship’s 11 crew had managed
to stop the engine and take
refuge in a safe room, leaving the
vessel adrift. At one point the
frustrated pirates telephoned the
German owners to ask where the
crew were hiding and how they
could re-start the engine.
Nine pirates were captured by
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel
AFort Victoria is being pressed
into action against pirates around the
Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden.
The fleet replenishment ship has
been brought back from a period of
extended readiness and has had
additional equipment fitted — MK44
weapon positions and an enhanced
medical capability — for the
deployment to the Middle East.
Fort Victoria will carry a Royal Navy
Merlin helicopter squadron —
A team of 24 US Marines from a special maritime raid force approach the containership Magellan Star three days
after it was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden
the US Marines during the dawn
raid to recover the Magellan Star.
In another case, the Indian
Navy launched a helicopter and a
special operations force team to
beat off a group of eight pirate
skiffs and a mother ship seeking
to attack merchant vessels in the
Gulf of Aden.
All the pirates were said to
including aircrew and engineers —
who will support the Combined
Maritime Forces efforts to combat the
threat of piracy and maritime
terrorism.
Using highly advanced sensors
and communications equipment, the
Merlin helicopters — which are with
heavy-duty machine guns and
thermal imaging equipment — will
provide surveillance of shipping
routes and will be used to detect and
deter pirate activity.
have been arrested and their
skiffs destroyed.
Intertanko said the naval
actions, together with the recent
prosecution of pirates in Kenya,
‘will reassure seafarers transiting
this area, and will demonstrate to
pirates that the authorities are
increasingly willing to take
pirates out of action’.
The helicopters will provide a
capability for boarding and searching
vessels, and they are large enough to
carry Royal Marines for sniper
operations and boarding via fast
roping.
Lieutenant Commander Neil
Brian, deputy commander of the
Merlin Helicopter Force, said:
‘Deploying one of the most capable
and versatile helicopters in the world
to this region will enhance the Royal
Navy’s ability to counter the constant
Meanwhile, the global petition
to urge governments to do more
to protect seafarers from piracy
has comfortably exceeded its
half-million signature target.
Ahead of the presentation of
the petition on World Maritime
Day last month, UN secretarygeneral
Ban Ki-moon expressed
concern about ‘the intolerable
RFA Fort Victoria takes a major
role in anti-piracy operations
threat that piracy poses to vessels of
all nations.’
Nautilus general secretary Mark
Dickinson commented: ‘This
deployment shows once again the
remarkable versatility and value of
the RFA and its seafarers, and
ministers would do well to take note
of what is being provided here as they
sit down to consider the outcome of
the latest value for money review and
the future of our maritime forces
under the strategic defence review.’
human cost of piracy’ and
pledged further action to tackle
the threat.
Mr Ban promised to ‘bring to
the attention of the Security Council
the unacceptable plight of
hostages currently being held by
pirates in Somalia’ and that he will
seek the Security Council’s support
‘to develop an approach that
might obtain their release’.
Concerns have also been raised
about a big increase in attacks
on shipping in the Far East. Attacks
in the South China Sea have hit a
three-year high, with 27 cases of
piracy and armed robbery
reported in the in the South China
Sea in first nine months
of this year. The International Maritime
Bureau said pirates armed
with guns and machetes had been
targeting tankers and bulk carriers
in the waters around Indonesia’s
Pulau Anabas and Mangkai islands
and it urged Indonesia to step up
patrols in the region.
Other incidents last month
included two violent attacks on
ships in Douala port, Cameroon.
The world’s three largest container
shipping companies have
decided to cooperate in the fight
against piracy in the Gulf of Aden
and the Indian Ocean.
The cooperation agreement
between CMA CGM, MSC and
Maersk Line includes information
exchange on safety measures,
piracy policies and procedures, as
well as coordination to ensure the
issues are highlighted.
Tributes
paid to
member
stabbed
to death
Nautilus has expressed its
Asympathies to the family of a
member who died in a knife attack
in the Philippines last month.
Local police said second mate
John Lorne MacDonald had been
stabbed to death by the jealous
boyfriend of a woman he had
reportedly travelled to the
Philippines to propose to.
Mr MacDonald, who served with
Trico Offshore, was said to have
flown from Scotland to meet the
woman in Angona, near Manila,
after developing a relationship
through an online dating site.
Mr MacDonald, who was 27 and
had studied at Glasgow Nautical
College, was stabbed in the stomach
and arms by the woman’s boyfriend
and was taken to hospital in
Angona, where he died from his
injuries.
His mother Joanne said: ‘He was
a much-loved son and brother, and
was very close to his family. He spent
a lot of time at sea, but when he was
off on leave he spent his holidays
first visiting family and friends, then
travelling, which he adored. John
loved playing guitar and was
passionate about Rangers [Football
Club]. His death is a tragedy and he
will leave a gap in so many people’s
lives that will never be filled.’
The woman Mr MacDonald had
been meeting, Nancy Romero, was
also stabbed and was reported to be
fighting for her life last month. Local
police are hunting her boyfriend,
Anselmo Lacostales, in connection
with the attacks.
Boats are stored on
deck for Fort Victoria’s
anti-piracy role
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